The Tea Party in the Woods By Akiko Miyakoshi Kids Can Press $16.95 ISBN: 978-1771381079 Ages 3-6 There are picture books out there that feel like short films. Some of the time they’re adapted into them (as with The Snowman or The Lost Thing or Lost and Found) and sometimes they’re made in tandem (The […]

The Mermaid and the Shoe By K.G. Campbell Kids Can Press $16.95 ISBN: 978-1554537716 Ages 3-7 On shelves now Why are magical creatures so hard to write? I’m a children’s librarian. That means that a goodly portion of my day can consist of small starry-eyed children asking for an array of otherworldly cuties. “Do you […]

The Most Magnificent Thing By Ashley Spires Kids Can Press $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-55453-704-4 Ages 3-7 On shelves now I was at a conference of math enthusiasts the other day to discuss kids and the state of math related children’s books. Not my usual scene but I was open to it. Despite what some might fear, […]

Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters By K.G. Campbell Kids Can Press $16.95 ISBN: 978-1-55453-770-9 Ages 4-8 On shelves now When writing a picture book it can sometimes be a good idea to take a universal childhood annoyance and then build upon it in a satisfyingly ridiculous manner. And kids, let’s face it, are often annoyed. They have […]

Big City Otto: Elephants Never Forget By Bill Slavin With Esperança Melo Kids Can Press ISBN: 978-1-55453-476-0 Ages 8-11 On shelves now Boy, The Man With the Yellow Hat just lost all credibility, didn’t he? Time was that Curious George snatcher could nab the jungle beast of his choice, slap his hands together, and call […]

My Name Is Elizabeth By Annika Dunklee Illustrated by Matthew Forsythe Kids Can Press $14.95 ISBN: 978-1-55453-560-6 Ages 4-8 On shelves September 1, 2011 The human capacity to garble a first name, even a simple or common one, is without limit. I should know. My name is Elizabeth. My preferred nickname is “Betsy”, which is […]

I did indeed, faithful readers! Just about the time this blog was headed to an all new format I was traipsing the halls of the Javits Center during Book Expo 2010. Being a working librarian and all, I was operating my library’s reference desk for most of BEA, but I was able to escape for […]

Mrs. Marlowe’s Mice By Frank Asch Illustrated by Devin Asch Kids Can Press $17.95 ISBN: 978-1-55453-022-9 Ages 4-8 On shelves now I used to think that employing a computer to handle all your illustrating needs in a picture book was a risky proposition. Then we entered into 2007 and suddenly there were books like Bow-Wow […]

The Owl and the Pussycat By Edward Lear Illustrations by Stephane Jorisch Part of the Visions in Poetry Series. KCP Press (an imprint of Kids Can Press) I’ve no beef with Edward Lear, but I’ve no particular love of him either. Best known for his sweet nonsense poems, Lear often comes off as a slightly […]

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About A Fuse #8 Production

Features everything from librarian previews of upcoming children's books to news, reviews, and videos. If it has something to do with children's literature, it will rate a mention here.

Betsy Bird is the Youth Materials Specialist of New York Public Library. She's reviewed for The New York Times and Kirkus, writes articles for Horn Book and SLJ, and wrote the picture book Giant Dance Party. You can contact her at Fusenumber8@gmail.com or follow her on . . .